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===Etruscans and Gladiators===
The Etruscan religion, had one unexpected influence on Rome and that was the development of the custom of gladiator contests. It appears that it was a custom among many Etruscan city-states that they forced men to fight to the death at the funeral of a noble or a king. The men usually fought to the death and the blood of the slain fighter was a sacrifice to the deities of the underworld. The Romans seemed to have adopted this custom sometime during the period of the Tarquin kings. The Romans largely secularized the custom of men fighting although it retained some religious symbolism such as the presence of an attendant dressed as the divinity Hermes.<ref> Bennett, Joseph. "The Gladiators." <i>The Hudson Review</i> 12, no. 2 (1959): 167-74</ref>. The Romans over the course of the centuries took what was essentially an Etruscan religious ceremony and turned it into a gory public sporting event.
===Conclusion===
The Etruscans were in many ways the predecessors of the Romans. They influenced the young city-state in many ways. The Etruscans culture exposed the Romans to the ideas of the Greeks, new religious practices. The Etruscans taught the Romans engineering and building skills and decisively influenced the classical Roman architectural style. They also developed the economy of the city, for instance by draining the marshes adjacent to Rome. The era of the Etruscan monarchs is often portrayed as a period of tyranny yet these kings expanded the city and its territory and made it the leading power in central Italy. It is arguable that the Etruscans paved the way for the Romans to become a power in Italy and in the Mediterranean.
